What to expect from the first generation of Ubuntu smartphones

The Ubuntu Touch smartphone OS has come a long way, but it still has further to plod before it’s ready for market – all Canonical will tell us that it hopes to see an Ubuntu phone before the end of this year. Nevertheless, now that some phone manufacturers are on board with the project, we’ve been able to play with a couple of prototypes: One was just a non-functioning handset from a Spanish company called BQ, showing off plain but solid build quality reflective of a mid-tier device. The other was more interesting – a re-purposed Android handset from a second Ubuntu partner, Meizu, which makes light work of the operating system and interface.

It looks a bit choppy to me, but alas, it’s a development build.

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It’s really too bad Canonical didn’t raise enough cash during its crowd-funding campaign. The hardware looked much more of-a-piece — much more part of an overall vision. (Jobs’ obsession with hardware, I think, helped sell Apple products.) If someone (not an Ubuntu user) can buy the same second-rate phone with Android, why buy Ubuntu? Would they even know what Ubuntu was? Who cares if the OS runs across different hardware? Big deal. Only a very few I suspect.

On the other hand, ChromeOS runs on 3rd rate hardware and is selling fairly well, but Google went after a niche that hadn’t yet been filled. Ubuntu? They’re trying to squeeze into a settled market. An OS that extends across devices is technically cool but, in the harsh practicalities of the market, is probably going to be utterly irrelevant — and that seems to be their only real selling point. Hardware? No. Just run-of-the-mill. Price point? No. Ease if use? No. What advantage does Ubuntu bring to the table? Can’t think of any that will matter to the market. They’re a day late and a dollar short.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope Canonical succeeds, but if I had to put money on the table, I would bet against them. Shuttleworth seems like he was in the right place at the right time just once in his career (made his millions) but hasn’t done much since (nothing more than anyone could have done with the same millions). I don’t have much faith in his leadership.

Chromebooks accounted for 21 percent of all notebook* sales, up from negligible share in the prior year, and 8 percent of all computer and tablet sales through November, up from one tenth of a percent in 2012 â€“ the largest share increase across the various product segments.

NPD claimed they were for commercial channels. The total size of that segment of the market is 14.4M

Doing some math it works out to ~3M. Not too far from the IDCs numbers.

To suggest that Chromebooks are 21% of the entire notebook market is hilariously off base.

Chromebooks have been an abject failure in anything except the Education sector where limited budgets make cost a deciding factor, and its nothing that Microsoft can’t (and in fact currently is) beat back with licensing price cuts.

When your only differentiator is price, you will always lose to the established player if they’re willing to dance with you at that price point.

It’s really too bad Canonical didn’t raise enough cash during its crowd-funding campaign. The hardware looked much more of-a-piece — much more part of an overall vision. (Jobs’ obsession with hardware, I think, helped sell Apple products.)

Nobody has ever seen the ‘hardware’ because it was a render of the device. It also ‘used’ new materials that no company has ever used. There was no prototype.

It shows how stupid people can be with their money that Canonical even got half way to their ridiculous millions. How could you do that based on an idea when Canonical has never succeeded? The only thing Canonical did successfully is become the number 1 distro for a few years.

I had high hopes for Canonical but the last few years showed me nothing I could believe in.

My personal opinion is that lately, unlike in the beginning, Canonical’s attitude of fighting everyone and fighting alone has alienated many of its supporters, myself included.

I largely agree, however, if I can get an Ubuntu phone that’s relatively inexpensive I will. I want one, a Linux phone that updates, I control and use as a computer appeals to me. Canonical’s strategy looks high risk and probably a mistake, but that wouldn’t stop me from getting their phone and just maybe they know what they are doing

Where?!? I am yet to see anyone using one on my travels across Europe, or on sale for that matter.

I recently had some free time in Connecticut (US) so I browsed my local Staples store. I was surprised to see more than one Chromebook (I think there were three different models) on display and for sale. I tried one out. I was surprised because I had forgotten that Google added “windowing” support, and that it’s no longer just a single fullscreen web browser window.

I had some fun listening to a sales clerk explain Chromebooks to another customer. As a computer nerd myself, the clerk’s description sounded a little silly.

Anyway, I have absolutely no idea if Chromebooks are selling well or are popular or are useful or are able to make me pancakes. I just wanted to share that story.

The guy at Futureshop asked me if I knew what it was, since most people buy it and then return it when they realize it isn’t a normal laptop.

It’s ok, but overall I regret buying it. The only use it has is for watching Netflix. My iPhone is a better web browser, and it’s useless for doing work on. So it mostly collects dust. Dirt cheap and about as appealing.

my main interest in Ubuntu Phone is its vision to provide a smartphone that is able to replace an low end laptop or desktop. The vision to have a smartphone I simply put into a docking station and use it as a desktop really fascinates me.

But looking at the specifications of the Meizu MX3, I do not think that dream comes true yet.

You can bet I’m going to run this OS when it’s release ready. You can also bet that I’m going to install it on an existing Android device to play with rather than purchase something new just for it. Such is the issue with selling open source software. You HAVE to sell me on the hardware, otherwise there’s nothing to sell.